Just a few minutes of exercise each day can turn ‘flabby’ adults into ‘fat burning machines’, experts say
JUST a few minutes of daily intense exercise can turn flabby adults into “fat-burning machines”, experts claim.
A major analysis found short bursts of explosive activity are much better at ridding people of their excess lard than steady exercise.
Interval training was found to burn an extra 0.03g of fat per minute, compared to moderate workouts such as jogging, swimming or playing football.
Experts claim a few weekly sessions can help turbocharge weight-loss.
And it also further boosts fat loss during regular exercise by an extra 0.13g per minute.
Lead researcher Professor Zeljko Pedisic from Victoria University in Melbourne, said: “If that stubborn body fat isn't going away, consider adding High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to your exercise routine.
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“A few minutes of intense exercise daily or several times a week, is enough to supercharge fat burning.
“HIIT is among the most popular types of workouts. If you are not already doing it, maybe you should give it a go.”
Prof Pedisic says the approach is more effective and less time-consuming than normal aerobic exercise, such as jogging. And works better the fatter you are.
Around two in three UK adults are overweight or obese.
Being too tubby raises the risk of type 2 diabetes, liver and heart disease, as well as several common cancers.
The , published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, looked at 18 trials involving more than 500 adults.
Volunteers took part in supervised HIIT, moderate aerobic exercise such as brisk walking, or nothing at all.
Not only did the participants doing intense bursts burn more fat, but they continued to do so when doing other forms of activity.
Scientists calculate that by adding some HIIT into their weekly routine, adults doing the recommended 150 minutes exercise weekly would lose an extra 10kg of flab over a decade.
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Examples include a few short sprints in the park or quick laps in the pool, followed by a break.
Experts say the intervals can last from a few seconds to minutes – but all help to boost fat burning.